The college football season is entering the midway point and some teams have made a strong case for national title consideration, including Oregon and Wast Virginia. But Alabama still reigns supreme at number one, as they proved on Saturday.
Alabama 33, Ole Miss 14
The No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide rolled to an easy victory over SEC-rival Ole Miss to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Quarterback AJ McCarron threw two touchdowns and Eddie Lacy added 82 rushing yards as Alabama earned the second in-conference win of the year. The team trailed 7-6 in the first half, which is the first time the team has trailed in regulation since last season's game against Tennessee, a streak of 10 games.
"It was a hard-fought win for us," Alabama coach Nick Saban said to the Associated Press. "I think people probably don't give Ole Miss enough credit. They played hard. They were physical. Their offense is difficult to defend."
Christian Jones added a 99-yard kickoff return and Amari Cooper caught eight balls for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama hadn't had a kick return for a touchdown since 2010 against Duke.
McCarron was accurate on the day, completing 22 of 30 passes, and never turned the ball over. He broke the Alabama school record of 190 consecutive passes without an interception, completeing his 206th in a row.
The Alabama defense completely shut down the Rebels, intercepting three passes and holding Ole Miss to just 80 rushing yards.
"Couldn't be more proud of the effort," Rebels first-year coach Hugh Freeze said. "Real pleased with the effort and fight our kids showed. They laid it on the line. They represented Rebel nation and the university very well.
Oregon 51, Washington State 26
The Oregon Ducks took their first road trip of the season and made the most of it, completely dominating Washington State for a win on Saturday night. The team played and won every game at Autzen Stadium this season, but was tested in the first half on the road by the Cougars.
The Ducks improved to 5-0 and overcame a wobbly first half, which they led just 23-19.
De'Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner each had touchdown runs and Avery Patterson added a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown to lead the Ducks to the resounding victory.
"Just our mindset. We came out and we didn't execute as well as we wanted in the first half and we knew that," Barner said.
Barner had one of the best days of his career on Saturday, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 195 yards. He had an 80-yard touchdown run and also added a 30-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Marcus Mariota in the first half.
"You just got to set the tone," Barner said. "It's a game of runs, you want the momentum on your side and sometimes a long drive like that will get things going for you."
Mariota was making the first road start of his career and threw for 169 yards on 21 of 32 attempts and threw two interceptions. He also had one passing and one rushing touchdown on the night.
Washington State played well on offense, but couldn't generate enough in the second half. Quarterback Connor Halliday had 348 yards passing and threw for one touchdown and one interception. Marquess Wilson had a standout day for the Cougars, catching 12 balls for 182 yards and touchdown. He is now the school's all-time leader in receiving yards.
"I thought that we competed in this game better from start to finish than we've competed in any other game this year and we need to learn from this game and grow from it, but there are a lot of positives in this game," Washington State coach Mike Leach said. "The results aren't what I would like, but I thought the personal effort as far as individual players I thought was the best work we've done during the season."
West Virgina 70, Baylor 63
One of the only top-25 matchups of the weekend was also one of the most exciting, with no. 9 West Virginia and No. 25 Baylor combining for 133 points in their game on Saturday.
The Mountaineers outdueled the Bears 70-63 behind quarterback Geno Smith's record-setting day. Smith tied a conference record with eight touchdown passes and threw for 656 yards in the air.
"It did feel like one of those classic Texas shootouts," said Smith, whose school moved over from the Big East this season. "That's kind of what the Big 12 is about."
Smith vaulted himself into Heisman trophy consideration with his standout day.
"Statistically, it's my best game ever," Smith said. "But I think it's more about the team, and I think it just lets us know that we're going to have to battle it out every week against some really tough teams in the Big 12.
Baylor's quarterback Nick Florence also had a record day, breaking Heisman Trophy-winning predecessor Robert Griffin III's school record with 581 yards in the air. He also added five touchdowns.
"We expect to score that many points a game," Florence said. "But the goal is to score more than our opponent and we came up a little short today."
According to ESPN.com, the game set a record for points scored with two teams ranked in the AP Top 25, breaking the mark of 124 by Oklahoma and Colorado in the 1980s.
Smith completed all but six of his passes and still has yet to throw an interception this season.
"Can you please tell me how you can improve on that?" West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said.
The Mountaineers set a school record with 807 total yards and the two teams combined for over 1,500 yards of offense. Wide receiver Stedman Bailey had 13 catches for 303 yards and a school-record five touchdowns.
Baylor receiver Terrance Williams set a new conference record with 314 yards receiving. He added 17 catches and two touchdowns. The team tied an FBS record for most points scored by the losing team in a game.
"We fought hard," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "But we didn't respond well enough to win the game."
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